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The Associated Press is reporting that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s request for a special grand jury to be impaneled to investigate alleged election interference by former President Donald Trump has been approved.
Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Christopher Brasher issued an order Monday saying the request for the special grand jury was approved by a majority of the superior court judges.
“The special purpose grand jury shall be authorized to investigate any and all facts and circumstances relating directly or indirectly to alleged violations of the laws of the State of Georgia, as set forth in the request of the District Attorney referenced herein above,” records show.
The special grand jury will be seated May 2 for up to one year, according to Brasher’s order. County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney has been assigned to supervise and assist the jury.
Willis wrote in her letter to Brasher that her office “has received information indicating a reasonable probability that the State of Georgia’s administration of elections in 2020, including the State’s election of the President of the United States, was subject to possible criminal disruptions.” She said her office has “opened an investigation into any coordinated attempts to unlawfully alter the outcome of the 2020 elections in this state.”
Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said last week he will cooperate with the special grand jury set to investigate evidence of election interference. The grand jury will examine a recorded phone call made more than a year ago from Trump in which he said he needed to “find” votes needed to overturn the presidential election. Raffensperger was on the line.
A special grand jury is typically called to investigate one specific topic, in this case, if Trump interfered in the 2020 election. It will have the power to subpoena witnesses, but it does not have the authority to issue an indictment. Instead, the special grand jury will produce a report on its findings and it will be up to Willis and her office to pursue charges. If that happens, the case will go in front of a regular jury.
